


We'll All Float On, Okay?

by orphan_account



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Angst, Deaf Character, Fluff, M/M, Matt is too good, Multi, OT7, can u tell what i was venting about, character with anxiety, character with arthritis and fibro, idk - Freeform, idk what the fuck this is, im sorry, it gets domestic as fuck, it started off as a vent piece and turned into this mess, this is shit idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 20:22:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9458981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "Matt still sleeps in the guest room, despite the other boys not being home. He shivers in the night and Joel tries to be as brave as he can. But how brave can you really be when the person you love is falling apart?How do you stand tall when the person who is your rock is turning into gravel right in front of you?"-It started off as a vent piece and turned into a beautiful messy, 18 page, story of the OT7's lives.It's mainly centered around Spoole and Matt at the start but it's OT7 for sure.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I really don't know what happened here. I was venting and then my brain went  
> OH DOMESTIC AS SHIT??  
> "good idea"  
> -  
> Idk I've been really agitated lately, and what i inflicted onto Matt and Spoole is stuff im trying to deal with currently so idk man. Hit me up on my Tumblr: ShipthewholeHaus  
> -  
> R/T, nor anyone else, has permission to use my fic.
> 
> ~~~  
> This is an AU where: Spoole and Joel never left, and there are houses in LA with reasonable yards that aren’t 30 million dollars. Also where the government doesn’t get fucked up by the church :)

-

The phone rings at 7 AM on the dot, and Joel feels ill and isn’t sure why. Joel, Adam and Bruce are the only ones in their house currently- and Joel is glad Adam manages to answer the phone before it went to the voicemail.

 

Joel knows the sinking feeling in his gut it right by the way Adam pales and grabs the counter- his knuckles turning white under the fading greens and purples.

 

“Mhmm. Yeah. Thank you. We’ll be there as soon as we can.” Adma hangs up, pausing before hanging the phone up and turning to Joel.

 

“Go get dressed. There’s been an accident. I’ll get Bruce.” 

 

-

 

Matt had been driving to the house when he got T-boned- he had been out to get groceries. Luckily he wasn’t hurt too badly, the worst being 2 of his ribs being fractured and his seat belt left a pretty impressive stripe of purple and blues on his chest. But it would all heal. 

 

(And luckily the car was fixable as well).

 

Adam, Joel and Bruce are the first to arrive at the hospital but Lawrence, and James seem to appear seconds after them (Bruce had called on their way out the door). 

 

Spoole was in Washington currently and hadn’t picked up his phone. James would remember later he had mentioned going to see a movie with his family, but at the moment it was all forgotten. 

 

The head nurse, Shelly- or Sherell (No one could remember) had basically ushered them into Matt’s room- the hospital being pretty accommodating for them. Small blessings, Joel guessed.  Sherri (?) pushed the door open carefully, mumbling about how Matt had been dozing 

 

Matt was propped up, looking smaller than he normally did and it made James’ heart hurt. Matt’s heart rate was steadily beeping on the small monitor next to the bed, and for a moment James is irrationally angry at the nurse for not mentioning that Matt had a nice bruise blossoming on his left cheek. The anger deflates when Matt notices them all somehow lingering in the doorway and splits into a wide grin- gently raising the hand closest to the door and making a grabby motion.

 

Unsurprisingly Joel and James were the first ones to rush to his side, and Adam not far behind. James lets out a huff of a laugh, Adam hates being called a mother hen but he earned that nickname. James knows he’s not the only one who is thinking the same thing because Bruce is snickering a moment later when Adam is rearranging Matt’s pillows for him because ‘ _ you looked uncomfortable.’ _

 

-

 

Matt gets discharged a few hours later and Spoole has apparently called the house 14 times, and texted all of them at a minimum of 30 times (Damn hosptials making you silence your phones). Lawrence and Adam decide to face time him, and explain everything that way and his wide eyes greet them and he looks between Matt’s fading bruises from the background and Adam- hoping to find answer in between.

 

“There was a car accident. He’s fine. Bruised ribs that’s all.” Joel is trying to lead Matt up the stairs but the shortest seemed to have other ideas and finds himself walking (hobbling) over to his concerned lover and smiling into the phone.

 

“I’m fine.” And there’s a beat of silence, “I love you.” Is all he said before Sean was noticeably calming down and now smiling back. After a second Matt started back to the upstairs- bringing Spoole with him on the phone. Lawrence followed, and it was only then Adam felt like he could breathe for the first time all morning.

 

-

 

The next morning Spoole shows up, explaining he cut his vacation short, and hopped the next flight.

 

He spends the entire day glued to Matt.

 

-

 

Soon enough leaves began to fall off the trees and Matt could stand straight, and move around with a pretty good range. The accident long forgotten. But he always seemed to ache now. Lead bones with skin too thin.

 

“Okay what the fuck is wrong?” It’s eventually James who asks the question everyone had lingered to ask. They’re sitting at the table, and the chair Matt’s in is slowly killing him. 

“What?” Matt was genuinely confused, what was James talking about? He shifted trying to get his back to stop screaming, at least at work his chair was padded. He was fine- just being over dramatic. Adam is the one to answer,

 

“You grimace almost anytime you move. You cry out waking yourself up because you slept wrong, you yelled the other day trying to take your socks off because it- and i quote ‘made my knees bend in a way i couldn’t breathe’- that’s not normal Matty.” And Matt’s gaze fell to his plate. They had noticed.

 

Well...Fuck.

 

“Idunno. Ever since the accident everything always hurts. An ache that never leaves.” 

 

By the end of the night Matt has an appointment with his doctor, and Joel pulls a heating pad out of seemingly nowhere and Matt sleeps through the night.

 

-

 

It takes about 2 weeks but he’s got a diagnosis. 

 

_ A diagnosis, jesus. _

 

He doesn’t come to back into reality for almost a week and a half after that. Just staring at the wall or is 100% immersed in his edits.

 

They miss him. Even if he is just 10 feet away.

 

-

 

(Matt does pretty well of ignoring them when they pester him, and they all pretend it doesn’t sting as badly as it does).

 

-

When he does become reanimated up again, it’s 4 PM on a Friday and Matt doesn’t even know how he got home because everything hurts his chest hurts, muscles he didn’t know he had ached, his legs thrummed with pain. And he had biked to work that morning. But he makes it there and he knows he’s close to crying and all he wants is for Adam to pick him up and make it stop. (As childish as it is. But he stayed late and ignored his body and now he was so fucked).

 

Adam is in the kitchen, playfully yelling at Joel and Spoole while Lawrence and Bruce spectate from the counter- seeming to run a commentary.  Just as Matt starts to move towards them- to make his presence know- James comes bounding in from outside and knocks Matt to the floor and that’s the last straw. Matt’s crying before he really makes the decision too. Everything just fucking hurts, and he’s been told it will never stop and he’s allowed to cry God damnit. 

 

Matt knows it’s Adam who picks him up because part of him is calmed, everything still hurts but at least he made it to Adam. Adam is moving them to the couch now; Matt wants to reach out and tell James it’s not his fault, but he can’t because he can’t even manage to bend his fingers into Adam’s shirt and he hasn’t cried in the 2 weeks since he found out and-

 

“It’s gonna hurt forever.” Is all Matt can say, and then he’s properly sobbing- which makes his chest hurt worse and he’s shaking so his wrists and elbows start to protest. So Matt tries to calm down before he makes everything hurt worse- despite the fact he wants to keep crying.

 

He’s curled into Adam as best he can be and when he calms down enough he explains.

 

“I’ve got arthritis and fibromyalgia. And it’s never gonna stop hurting.” Matt feels more tears leak out, but all he can focus on his how he’s trying to curl his hand into Adam’s shirt, but he just can’t. It makes his arm burst into flames and it’s not fair goddamnit. 

 

“I’ve been developing the arthritis for a while but the fibro is from the car accident.” He continues and it’s only then he can look up at everyone. No one looks mad or disappointed, concerned mostly- and in James’ case; guilty.

 

-

 

They adjust to Matt condition with a lot of trial and error. Each of the bed rooms has a heating pad stored away just in case. There’s a heated blanket that stays on the couch now- for the nights where Matt used up too much energy to make it upstairs. 

 

The arthritis is mostly in his hands and knees- but the fibro is everywhere. Hand massages become more frequent after long crunch days.

 

-

 

A couple of weeks later Joel buys a fancy padded chair for Matt’s spot at the table and Matt no longer dreads dinner.

 

-

 

The leaves are all off the trees by now, the wind picking up and the chill settling in over the house like a blanket. 

 

-

 

Spoole kinda goes MIA before their “Off Time” and no one can reach him on his phone- the one Joel had bought him as an early Christmas present. It’s not that odd sometimes they each had to get away, but Sean was one for leaving notes, not just vanishing.

 

Adam wonders in the back of his mind why Sean left.

-

 

Adam finds Sean running one night coming home from work, and he almost cries as he pulls over and the small boy gets into the car. He’s covered in bruises and cuts but Adam’s got him. He’s safe- thank Christ.

 

-

 

Somehow everyone is going to be at the house Christmas morning. Adam, no longer speaking to his family, Bruce- who had Christmas with his mom the week before.  Lawrence being the only one who will have to go home during some part of the day. And when asked if he’ll be okay Sean tells them he just saw his family before Matt’s accident and shrugs it off. (Red flags go off in everyone’s minds- no one loved going home for family holidays more than Sean. And he had never missed a Christmas with them).

 

-

 

Adam comes down stairs the night after finding Sean, after Adam had tossed and turned for 3 hours; he knew he wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon. He really isn’t prepared to see Joel and Spoole curled up on the couch, the younger crying.

 

“What’s going on?” Adam asks coming over and crouching in front of them. Joel looks worried- an expression seen far too often lately. After a moment Spoole doesn’t reply Joel clears his throat and answers.

 

“He can’t hear out of one of his ears. Not since…” Joel trails off by and Adam’s heart picked up.

“Not since what?” He doesn’t mean to panic but he’s got Anxiety with a capital A, and he’s a worrier. Not for himself mind you, but for his boys. 

 

“I got into a fight. By accident.” Is the only reply Sean gives and Adam closes his eyes and let out a breath. 

 

“Hey baby, it’s alright, we’ll go get it checked tomorrow alright?” Adam has slipped his hand into Spooles hair and it gets a nod. Adam takes a deep breath then stands, holding his hand out.

 

“C’mon baby, to bed with you. If you don’t let Joel get his beauty rest he’ll end up looking like when Bruce got pink eye.” Adam feels content when it gets a laugh- from both of them. And soon enough the house is quiet and Adam is watching whatever stupid documentary is on TV. He can’t really focus on it, though.

 

-

 

Sure enough Sean is now 65% deaf in his right ear, most likely he’s been losing his hearing for a while, probably from loud music and loud video game explosions- this just being the last big shove into being noticeable. And it’s not something that can be fixed at the moment unfortunately. The hearing aid he was recommended to get ends up being around 600 dollars and Sean leaves frustrated- knowing he’ll never be able to afford that.

 

-

 

Christmas comes and goes, and despite as bad as the last few months have been, Christmas is fun. However the last gift is not given until a two days later.

-

 

“Oh hey Spooles last gift came!” Bruce says kicking the door shut, holding the Amazon box in his hands. Everyone was piled into the living room, playing on the XBox-One Adam had bought for the house. (Along with an NES and Gamecube. No longer having to lug consoles home from work).

 

“Last gift?” Spoole asks pausing the game and looking up from where he’s curled between Joel and James on the couch.

 

“Oh Yeah!” Joel makes a grabby hand for the package and Bruce gives it to him, watching as he passes it to Spoole carefully, but holds onto it and says, 

 

“Merry Christmas. From all of us. Mama Peake included.” Is all Joel says before Spoole starts pulling the box from Joel’s grip. Sean’s lip quirk at the mention of Matt’s mom- Sean loved her more and more every time they met. 

 

Sean never being one for patients rips the box open. And under the bubblewrap there’s another small box, and inside the box (which turns out to be a case). Sits one hearing aid. It’s a forest green, and it’s even got ‘Spoole’ written on the side. 

 

He doesn’t know what to say, but soon James is sitting up- gently taking it out of the black case and wrapping it around his ear. 

 

“Ready?” Joel asks, and Sean’s glad he’s on his left or else he’d never would have heard the quiet question. He nods and then everything is very...loud. Lawrence is behind the couch, gently rubbing his shoulders. And Sean takes a deep breath.

 

He can hear Joel’s shirt crinkle when he moves to see Sean’s face, and it take a bit of adjusting and suddenly Sean is aware of how off balance he had been. Now it felt like he was alright. Feet planted and ready to go.

 

He cries.

 

-

 

Sean nevers wears the hearing aid in videos. Too anxious about the viewers and what they might say. No one pressures him into it. And if they happen to make sure he sits with his right ear to them always well...that’s just a coincidence.

He hearing aid case always sits on the table by the front door, as if it was to remind him to bring it every morning.

 

-

A new year comes and many kisses are given at midnight.

 

Life is on an up. This will surely be their year.

 

Or it’s supposed to be.

-

 

Valentines comes and it’s a Saturday- the office stays quiet, the house does not. 

 

It’s filled with a wonderful breakfast in bed that Lawrence and and Joel spent a month preparing for. It’s filled with  the smell of strawberry pancakes and syrup for hours. 

 

It’s filled with soft ‘I love yous’ and gentle kisses that turn passionate fast. The house is filled with sighs and moans and begging. With praises and whispers of promises to be delivered on.

 

It’s a good day.

 

-

 

Eventually leaves start to reappear, and flowers bloom and everything seems to be getting better.

 

Which is usually when everything goes to shit.

 

-

 

Both Bruce and Adam stay late to finish organizing the shared folder, James and Joel going off for 1 on 1 date night, while Joel and Spoole did the same. Matt had mentioned in passing maybe going to see his mom. So Bruce and Adam were ready fro a quiet night in, which no one else at home.

 

Instead when they open the garage to make it easier to unload groceries, Matt is standing in the middle of it. Bright faced and...crying? They both get out of the car pretty fast to say in the least. Bruce is the one to catch Matt’s attention by yelling a ‘What the hell?’

 

There’s a blood on Matt’s knuckles and the punching bag is still swinging gently- but obviously forgotten- just like the groceries in Adam’s car.

“I can’t even keep a goddamn fist!” Adam wasn’t sure whether or not he was scared or not. Matt would never hurt them, he trusted that but he had also never seen Matt like this. Granted they all knew that the arthritis was hard on him, often having to stop edits to rub his hands but Adam didn’t realize just how much it had started to weigh on him.

 

He didn’t think any of them really did.

 

He- all of them really- were so used to Matt deflating, giving the cold shoulder, coping without words- this was...This was new, to say in the least.

 

“My goddamn body is fucking broken and goddamn it!” Matt kicks the wall next to him and both Adam and Bruce are frozen in the archway of the garage door and the driveway. 

 

No one is sure what to say, so Adam waits until Matt sighs and seems to go empty. And there it is.

 

“Want some tea?” Is all he can offer and he frowns internally when Matt doesn’t reply with any sound just a nod.

 

-

 

Matt takes almost 3 months to find his voice after that, and that meaning absolutely no words being spoken in between, the expectation being filming Open Haus, the Comments Show and any questions that are work related- but he was even more reserved. Everyone feels a loss because Matt had been so much more alive, but it’s back to like after he got his diagnosis. Either submerged in work, or just not present.

 

Back to only texting and sticky notes. Sometimes nothing but a blank face.

 

Matt was also refusing to admit when everything got to much for him. James finds out he’s not taking his medication and between himself and Joel they must lecture Matt for half an hour. Ranting about how he needs to take it, and they’re worried about him- the entire time his face stays blank and he stays where he was sitting on the couch.

 

He didn’t ever end up replying. Just offered a tired smile, kissed them both on the cheek and had left for a drive. He avoided them like the plague for days afterwards.

 

[Adam would yell at them later, explaining that sometimes Matt got mad at himself and would punish himself, even if others didn’t see the reasoning.

 

“ _ So by not taking his meds…” James trails off and Joel is pale. _

 

_ “He’s making himself feel the pain. Because he thinks he deserves it.” _

 

They apologize the next time they seem him and are both internally grateful for the smile they receive].

 

-

 

When he did find his voice again it wasn’t to the boys, it was to the jackasses that had just made it to initiation and the latest thing that the gangs had been going was going after a “local celebrity”. And Matt was already so tired from work, and the pain, walking home with his head low, his headphones in. He never ever saw them coming.

 

They stop him to ask for directions and when he turns to point they grab him by the shoulders into the alley he had just passed. 

 

His voice came back in staggered breathy pleas.

 

“What the fuc-. Ahh. Ow. Please, what did I do? Who are you? What did I d- ow. Ow, ow Ow-”

 

He stops talking when his mouth fills with copper and his arms grow to heavy to fight back any more.

-

 

After that Matt drops off the planet it seems. He cashes in his vacation days with an email to Adam and goes God knows where. He doesn’t even come home before sending the email. 

 

-

 

The only reason the boys find out is because the media somehow gets a hold of the fact the police interviewed a “man half beaten to death in what was assume gang violence”; who also was an internet celebrity (of course they  _ had  _ to run it).

 

Adam is the one who is the first to find out. First to work that morning booting up his computer and then his AIM messenger explodes with questions from various other RT members.

 

**_FROM: Weekend @ Burnies_ **

**_MSG:_ **

**_Is everyone alright?_ **

**_TO: Weekend @ Burnies_ **

**_MSG:_ **

**_Why do you ask??_ **

 

Burnie just sends an article back and everyone else comes into work seeing Adam vomit into his trash can- the article still opened on his computer. They all catch the headline.

 

“ **LOCAL INTERNET CELEBRITY ATTACKED”** and under it in smaller text

“ **_A member of the group that calls themselves Funhaus, online was violently beaten, in what is assumed a gang initiation ritual (which has started becoming more popular over the last year). This occurred last Tuesday evening…”_ **

 

“Was it...?” Joel can’t even bring himself to finish asking, and he’s got tears in his eyes- and everyone knows what he’s asking.

 

Adam doesn’t even reply, he just nods.

 

-

They don’t even try to work. They all just retreat home. 

-

 

Bruce goes into the garage and the sound of fists on the punching bag is heard for a long while. 

 

Adam, Sean and Joel curl up on the couch, and put on some movie on the background- trying to do anything possible to forget that what was happening was real. Spoole gives up on the movie about 20 minutes in, his leg bouncing and fingers tapping on everything. He ends up going for a walk- a 4 hour walk, but a walk.

 

He wishes it helped more than it did.

 

James had collected everyone’s phones, tablets and even laptops. James knew them all better than anyone that they would all look up different articles and drive themselves insane. Adam is grateful when James snatches his phone away- but Adam had managed to get a list of injuries before it was taken. 2 Bruised ribs, a fracture in his foot, a minor concussion. Various scrapes and bruises.

 

No one even went near Twitter, for a month after that. (Luckily Matt’s name wasn’t given out, but still. The channel was called out by name which narrowed it down to it being 1 out of 14 people).

 

Lawrence spends 2 hours trying to get in hold with  _ anyone _ who might know where Matt is. Eventually he’ll find out Matt is at his Aunt’s house, curled up on the sofa- passed out from crying for the past 3 days. 

 

She tells them not to come.

 

For once, they listen.

 

-

 

The leaves are back and swaying in the LA heat, sunhats and pool selfies become more frequent on their timelines.

 

They don’t really go anywhere without their mountain man. Instead they all sit at home, trying to not appear as if they’re listening for the turning of the door handle.

 

They all wait for him. 

 

-

 

Matt runs out of vacation days after a week and just shows back up. Walks through the front door, shrugging his backpack off and obviously trying to avoid attention. He’s sunken and tired but there. His face still has a pretty bad bruise around his left eye, and road rash on top of it. He winces when he steps and everyone holds back the urge to hug him, but they all had a conversation and had a made a choice- and they were gonna wait for Matt to come to them. 

 

And they all had accepted the possibility that it may never happen.

 

The possibility that he may never trust [them] again.

-

 

Matt won’t sleep in their bed. He either falls asleep on the couch or in the guest room. Everyone understands, it hurts, but they understand.

 

-

 

Adam and Burnie both end up having to put out journal entries telling for people to stop asking about what had happened. (Adam was also in the middle of figuring out how to sue the news company that had first leaked the story).

 

-

 

RTX comes and RTX goes. They all make up an excuse saying how Joel and Matt both were called home for family events, saying that they are both probably having more fun with their families than they would here- which is a blatant lie. Joel spends the 5 days holding Matt as he shakes and cries. Joel tries to not let it wear him down as bad as it does.

 

Matt still sleeps in the guest room, despite the other boys not being home. He shivers in the night and Joel tries to be as brave as he can. But how brave can you really be when the person you love is falling apart?

 

How do you stand tall when the person who is your rock is turning into gravel right in front of you?

  
  


-

 

Matt shows up and plays OverWatch with them, mouths off more in front of the camera and he’s in what they’ve deemed “the attitude era”.

 

They all love it. They thrive for the nights where Matt relaxes with them at home and doesn’t flinch at the hand James lays on his back, or the yelling when Lawrence dies for the 10th time. 

 

They all lived for the night where he crawled back into bed with them, taking his spot and filling the gap all of them had felt.

 

And they certainly all flourish when his cold hand slips into one of theirs in one of their random outings to Target.

 

-

 

The leaves start to fall again and Bruce spends an afternoon raking them into a pile, while everyone else spends an afternoon destroying said pile.

 

It’s fun. It’s easy and filled with laughter. 

 

-

 

By the time it’s time to start buying costumes and masks for All Hallows Eve, Spoole has started wearing his hearing aid 24/7. There’s no announcement it just happens and no one really bats an eye.

 

(The only time it’s really met with an impact is when Sean goes to RTX the following year and a girl explains how important he is to her and how she found courage through him to stop being ashamed of wearing hers. He hugs her and they both cry for a good moment.)

 

-

 

Adam ends up going home for a random long weekend, at the request of his mother. He takes a deep breath and goes.

 

He wishes he didn’t.

 

Adam ends up leaving in the middle of the night after he hears everyone talking about him once they’ve assumed he’s gone to sleep. Adam sits in “his” room until he hears the voices fade and packs his bag,and then starts the drive back home. Ignoring the dashboard clock that reads 3:46 AM, he drives to a McDonald's parking lot, and tries to sleep. When he wakes up it’s 7:30 and he starts the drive straight back. By the time he wanders in, it’s a little after one and he enters the door with heavy eyes and an even heavier heart.

 

Matt is up and in the kitchen for whatever reason and sees him, and instantly Adam is aware of the hug he’s being given. Matt let’s go after a second and takes his jacket- throws it on the chair by the door, and turns on the Xbox. They play OverWatch until Adam falls asleep.

 

When Adam wakes up, Matt is still there- and at some point Bruce had joined them too. He’s warm and content- Adam doesn’t fight it when his brain tells him to go back to sleep.

 

-

 

All Hallows Eve comes, and they decide to go out. They make plans while sitting in the office, and tell Matt over lunch. He’s makes a face- and they all know he won’t go.

 

“C’mon, why not?” God bless whiney Sean Poole,and Matt mumbles his answer into his salad.

 

“What was that?” It’s James, he’s leaning over the table, hand to his ear- looking like a twat like normal, and Mat sighs.

 

“I was just gonna hand out candy for the kids in the neighborhood tonight.”

They’re all ready to leave, but they catch sight of Matt dressed up as a Wizard, candy bowl in hand and no one can bring themselves to leave.

 

They all end up on the couches, watching Troll 2 (to the delight of Sean), each of them sharing small smiles the way Matt would jump up to pass out candy when the doorbell rang.

 

-

 

A few weeks later Matt ends up babysitting for one of the mom’s he had met Halloween night. She hadn’t had a night out with her husband since having her second son, and Matt had offered without thought.

 

So one afternoon when he gets a text asking if he could watch the boys he replied with a sure. Everyone else had gone into the office to re-record a video, but Matt wasn’t needed. So he picked up the boys for the night and was in the middle of making dinner when he heard the garage door open.

 

Matt had Ronnie in his little dragon-covered highchair, his 5 month little legs kicking all over the place, babbling away. While Shepard sat at the breakfast counter talking all about how school had been, while Matt While Matt nodded as he stirred the pasta sauce. 

 

The garage door opens a couple minutes later; everyone trails in slowly and Shepard isn’t phased, and Ronnie is moreso fascinated with the idea of more attention- now throwing his chubby arms up as well as swinging his legs.

 

“Uh, Peake?” Bruce is standing in the doorway, everyone behind him (With the exception of Joel who is now entertaining little Ronnie). 

 

“Hmm?” Matt just looks up, and doesn’t look phased at all as he returns to the stove and says, “I told you I was going to watch the boys for Amber tonight. I texted the group chat, and each of you indivaily.” 

 

No one has the dignity to reply to that so slowly they all just go about their routine.

 

-

 

Matt babysits for Amber a few more times over the coming months and it starts to stir ideas in the backs of everyone’s minds. Little thoughts, they never talk about, but they are there. Quiet whispers of what could be.

 

-

 

“I think I want kids one day.” Joel is drunk, very very drunk, but in all fairness Mario Party is hard, and vodka is a powerful thing. Luckily his little outbursts comes after the stream is turned off and they’re stumbling into the house. Lawrence is asleep on the couch already (Sean not far behind him).

 

“You’ve been thinking about it too?” James is the first one to pipe up, and pretty soon they’re somehow having a big ol’ heart to heart about how seeing everyone interact with Ronnie and Shepard had stirred up lots of feelings.

With everyone having such a buzz, no one really noticed Adam slip off as soon as the conversation had started. No one but Bruce of course- but he’ll ask Adam about it later.

 

-

 

Bruce doesn’t forget and does ask him about it, about a week later when everyone else has gone off to do various things, and Adam will stop mid-typing of his email and just sigh.

 

“I..I don’t have a dad to exactly use as a model. What if I fuck this kid up?” 

 

Bruce spends a long time talking with Adam that night.

 

-

 

After they get serious about the possibilities of having kids, marriage is of course on the list.

 

Matt and Adam get married first in the courthouse, on a sunny Tuesday- surrounded by the boys. Joel and Sean next, only a month or so later. Bruce, Lawrence and James, all buy rings (that match everyone else's) but none of them go to the courthouse for a while.

 

-

 

They start for a surrogate 2 years after Matt’s accident, and from the second they meet her they know she’s the one- that she’s perfect for them and their...situation. 

 

-

 

Her name’s Elyse, and when they think back on it later, they all think that they definitely fell in love with her from the second she stepped in the door. 

 

They had met her through an online service (knowing getting an adoption would be impossible), and she had walked into the cafe (and their lives) with the grace of a hype puppy and a smile as wide and bright as the sun.

 

-

 

She says yes and when she makes an offhanded comment about being okay with polyamory individuality they all stop to think, “ _ What if _ .”

 

-

 

Once the process can begin they have about four long talks about who’s sperm should “knock the fuck up, wheezy” (in James’ classy tone). And it took some time but it was eventually settled that it would be a ‘race’ (again thank you James) between Matt, Joel and James himself.

 

-

 

They were told it could take months and months to get a result, but luckily for them it only took a couple of weeks before Elyse got a positive on one of the weekly ‘check ins’.

 

-

 

She moved into the house after that, taking up the second office that was never used and turning it into her bedroom. It was going to be a crazy weird 9 months for sure, and it put them all at ease to have her close by. She would still be going to work for as long as she could before maternity leave, but it still brought a lot of comfort.

 

And as soon as she was moved in the empty miscellaneous storage room started the process of becoming a nursery.

 

-

It’s a particularly bad day when Matt has to leave work a couple hours early because he just can't bend his hands and he’s so frustrated he doesn’t even tell the guys- instead he just tells Bones to pass on the message.

 

So when Matt slumps into the house, hours before normal time, Elyse knows something is wrong. It’s one of her days off and her stomach is only just now starting to curve outward, not really visible yet.

 

She stops Matt before he can retreat upstairs and lock himself in the office.

 

“Hey. What’s up?” And Matt, honest to God, does not know why he tells her, but he’s thankful when she’s pulling him to the sofa, telling him to stay and then disappearing into her room. She returns a couple of moments later with a blue bottle and tells him to “cuddle up”.

 

She ends up putting on some Netflix show, and starts rubbing Matt’s hands with the lotion. And Matt want’s to scream, it’s so relaxing. His hands are tingling but not in the ‘kill me, kill me now’ way but more in the ‘A solution!’ way.

 

“I use this when I get cramps, it’s the hardcore stuff.” Is all she says before starting to rub his knuckles and Matt lays his head on her shoulder.

 

“I love you. This is the best thing anyone has ever done for me.” He sighs and Elyse just laughs, watching the show, and before he knows it Matt is dozing off just as Elyse starts the second hand.

 

-

 

When everyone wanders in a bit later and see’s their little mountain man curled up- hands still being rubbed, despite the fact he’s asleep- they all know. She can’t go anywhere, she has to stay. Lawrence is the one to carry Matt to bed that night, and he doesn’t miss the subconscious way Matt had fought him to stay by Elyse.

 

Yeah she really can’t go.

 

-

 

It’s at week 12 when they get their first ultrasound and big shock. Their little one is coming with a plus one. 

“Ohmygod we’re gonna have twins.” Is all any of them can really say inbetween a lot of smiling and hugging.

 

A little girl and a little boy. The both of both worlds.

 

-

 

Around week 18, by the time their little bundles are the size of sweet potatoes, Elyse is asked to “Stay and kinda never leave.” She cries (and blames it on the pregnancy hormones) but gives them each a gently kiss and says yes.

-

 

They start arguing about baby names around week 20. James insists that  Torvald is the clear way to go, and if Bruce hears that goddamn suggestion one more time- he might kill him.

 

Adam, Bruce and Joel just through out different celebrities (mostly dead), and it’s eventually Spoole and Matt are just banging their heads on the counter trying to get their suggestions out there, but everyone is so content talking over one another they don’t even try.

 

~

 

That night when they’re all in bed (aka the two King mattresses shoved together), Sean blurts out his idea for a name.

 

“What about  Alyx for the girl ? ” And the group is silent for a long moment before there just seems to be a wave of agreement.

 

“Only if we spell it like from Half-life.” Is what James says, and Sean snorts

 

“Like I was thinking it any other way.”

 

“I was thinking about  Orion...for a boy.” It’s Matt’s voice that speaks up next, and they had assumed he was asleep (Matt usually was the first one to go), and Adam pulls him closer and kisses the top of his messy hair.

 

“Alyx and Orion.” 


End file.
